Abstract
Water samples collected from public drinking water supplies in Sicily were analysed for electric conductivity and for their chloride, sulphate and nitrate contents. The samples were collected as uniformly as possible from throughout the Sicilian territory, with an average sampling density of about one sample for every 7,600 inhabitants. Chloride contents that ranged from 5.53 to 1,302 mg/l were correlated strongly with electric conductivity, a parameter used as a proxy for water salinity. The highest values are attributable to seawater contamination along the coasts of the island. High chloride and sulphate values attributable to evaporitic rock dissolution were found in the central part of Sicily. The nitrate concentrations ranged from 0.05 to 296 mg/l, with 31 samples (4.7% of the total) exceeding the maximum admissible concentration of 50 mg/l. Anomalous samples always came from areas of intensive agricultural usage, indicating a clear anthropogenic origin. The same parameters were also measured in bottled water sold in Sicily, and they all were within the ranges for public drinking water supplies. The calculated mean nitrate intake from consuming public water supplies (16.1 mg/l) did not differ significantly from that of bottled water (15.2 mg/l). Although the quality of public water supplies needs to be improved by eliminating those that do not comply with the current drinking water limits, at present it does not justify the high consumption of bottled water (at least for nitrate contents).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aiuppa, A., Bellomo, S., Brusca, L., D’Alessandro, W., & Federico, C. (2003). Natural and anthropogenic factors affecting groundwater quality of an active volcano (Mt. Etna, Italy). Applied Geochemistry, 18, 863–882.
Aiuppa, A., Bellomo, S., Brusca, L., D’Alessandro, W., Di Paola, R., & Longo, M. (2006). Major-ion bulk deposition around an active volcano (Mt. Etna, Italy). Bulletin of Volcanology, 68, 255–265.
Böhlke, J. K. (2002). Groundwater recharge and agricultural contamination. Hydrogeology Journal, 10, 153–179.
Brunetti, M., Buffoni, L., Mangianti, F., Maugeri, M., & Nanni, T. (2004). Temperature, precipitation and extreme events during the last century in Italy. Global Planetary Changes, 40, 141–149.
Brusca, L., Aiuppa, A., D’Alessandro, W., Parello, F., Allard, P., & Michel, A. (2001). Geochemical mapping of magmatic gas–water–rock interactions in the aquifer of Mount Etna volcano. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 108, 199–218.
D’Alessandro, W., Bellomo, S., Bonfanti, P., Brusca, L., & Longo, M. (2011). Salinity variations in the water resources fed by the Etnean volcanic aquifers (Sicily, Italy): Natural vs. anthropogenic causes. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 173, 431–446. doi:10.1007/s10661-010-1397-4.
D’Alessandro W., Bellomo S., Parello F., Brusca L., & Longo, M. (2008). Survey on fluoride, bromide and chloride contents in public drinking water supplies in Sicily (Italy). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 145, 303–313.
D’Alessandro, W., Ferron, F. A., Pecoraino, G., & Le Guern, F. (2003). Sulphur isotopic composition in groundwater sulphate at Mt. Etna. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 67, A72.
Davis, S. N., Whittemore, D. O., & Fabryka-Martin, J. (1998). Uses of chloride/bromide ratios in studies of potable water. Ground Water, 36, 338–350.
Ferrara, V. (1991). Modificazioni indotte dallo sfruttamento delle acque sotterranee sull’equilibrio idrodinamico e idrochimico dell’acquifero vulcanico dell’Etna. Memorie della Società Geologica Italiana, 47, 619–630.
Holloway, J. M., Dahlgren, R. A., & Casey, W. H. (2001). Nitrogen release from rock and soil under simulated field conditions. Chemical Geology, 174, 403–414.
Howarth, R., Anderson, D., Cloern, J., Elfring, C., Hopkinson, C., Lapointe, B., et al. (2000). Nutrient pollution of coastal rivers, bays, and seas (pp. 15). Ecological Society of America.
Kondili, E., & Kaldellis, J. K. (2006). Water use planning with environmental considerations for the Aegean islands. Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 15, 1400–1407.
ISTAT (2003). Italian National Institute for Statistics, Indagine Multiscopo—Aspetti della vita quotidiana.
L’hirondel, J., & L’hirondel, J. L. (2002). Nitrate and man: Toxic, harmless, or beneficial? Oxfordshire: CABI.
Misund, A., Frengstad, B., Siewers, U., & Reimann, C. (1999). Variation of 66 elements in European bottled mineral waters. The Science of the Total Environment, 243/244, 21–41.
Nolan, B. T. (1999). Nitrate behavior in ground waters of the southeastern USA. Journal of Environmental Quality, 28, 1518–1527.
Powlson, D. S., Addiscott, T. M., Benjamin, N., Cassman, K. G., de Kok, T. M., van Grinsven, H., et al. (2008). When does nitrate become a risk for humans? Journal of Environmental Quality, 37, 291–295.
Regione Siciliana (1998). Climatologia della Sicilia, 5 Volums. Palermo, Tipografia Prilla.
Regione Siciliana (2005). Carta Regionale delle zone vulnerabili da nitrati di origine agricola – note esplicative. http://www.regione.sicilia.it/agricolturaeforeste/assessorato/sottositi/Carta%20Nitrati/Note_CartaNitrati.pdf.
Spalding, R. F., & Exner, M. E. (1993). Occurrence of nitrate in groundwater—A review. Journal of Environmental Quality, 22, 392–402.
WHO (2004). Guidelines for drinking-water quality. Recommendations (Vol. 1, 3rd ed.). Geneva: World Health Organization.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic Supplementary Material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
D’Alessandro, W., Bellomo, S., Parello, F. et al. Nitrate, sulphate and chloride contents in public drinking water supplies in Sicily, Italy. Environ Monit Assess 184, 2845–2855 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2155-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2155-y